For many years, the electrical cable industry has had the benefit of cable ties to encircle and ensnare groupings of conductors. Applicant's U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,022,557 and 3,047,945, now expired, respectively show examples of cable ties and tensioning apparatus for use in assembling cable ties and conductor groupings. As shown in these patents, cable ties are typically molded plastic members having a head portion and a tail portion extending from the head portion to a free end. The head portion typically includes a pawl member extending into a tail portion passage extending fully through the head portion. The tail portion is routed about the conductors to be ensnared and some designs have serrations on one or both outer surfaces thereof designed to pass by the pawl member under the pulling pressure of a person or a pulling tool, the pawl retentively engaging the serrations to form a cable tie loop tightly encircling the conductors. Some designs involve a tail with a smooth surface, which is engaged by a pawl.
Where it is desired to mount a cable tie to a mounting panel, use is sometimes made of a so-called “mounting head tie”, such as are available from Thomas & Betts Corporation under the trademark “Catamount”. This cable tie is formed as above described, but further includes a mounting head or boss integrally formed with the tie proper adjacent the tie head portion and defining a circular hole. Use of mounting head ties entails need for a stove bolt and nut, a flat washer and a lock washer. The stove bolt is inserted through the mounting head hole and the flat washer and lock washer are then applied to the bolt after the bolt has been inserted through an opening in a mounting panel. The bolt is then threaded into the nut and tightened.
An alternative to the foregoing apparatus is seen in a “Single-Bundle Mounting Base”, also available from Thomas & Betts Corporation under the registered trademark “Ty-Rap”. This device is an elongate nylon base, having end openings for receiving screws for mounting the base to a mounting panel and further openings intermediate the end openings. The end of a cable tie opposite the head portion is passed successively through the intermediate openings and the mounting screws are then applied to the base and threaded into openings in the mounting panel. Conductors are now applied to the cable tie and the tie is tightened about the conductors.
From applicants' perspective, use of the mounting head tie or the single-bundle mounting base is costly, labor intensive and inefficient in weight sensitive environments, such as aircraft, where lessening of the securement device weight converts into fuel saving, shortened take-off distances and extended flight mileage.
Lessened cost, labor intensity and weight than provided by the mounting apparatus above described is available, e.g., through the use of so-called “Push Mount Cable Ties” also sold by Thomas and Betts Corporation under the aforesaid Catamount trademark. This device includes an arrowed structure adjacent the cable tie head portion and formed integrally therewith. The arrowed structure is inserted into an opening in a mounting panel of specific thickness and the wings of the arrow, upon emerging from the opening, spread apart, securing the cable tie to the mounting panel. From applicant's perspective, such alternative does not provide desired mounting securement strength and requires precise hole diameters and panel thickness.
Another approach to cable tie mounting of lessened labor intensity is seen in O'Grady U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,154, which discloses a cable tie having a head portion and a tail extending from the head portion, the tail having a self-bias to a planar configuration, and a securement member defining a single elongate slot for receiving the cable tie tail. Upon assembly of the securement member and the cable tie tail, the tail is folded upon itself and the securement member rotated into general alignment with the folded cable tie tail. The securement member is inserted into and through a mounting panel opening, whereupon the securement member, which has a length exceeding the diameter of the mounting panel opening, rotates into parallelism with the mounting panel and is urged against the mounting panel by the self-bias of the cable tie tail.
Another approach to cable tie mounting of lessened labor intensity in copending, commonly-assigned patent application Ser. No. 10/772,909, filed on Feb. 5, 2004 and entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SECURING CABLES AND THE LIKE”, and now standing as allowed and incorporated herein by this reference thereto. In that approach, a method is provided for use in assembling conductors with a mounting panel, comprising the steps of: (a) providing a cable tie having a head and a tail extending from the head, the tail having a self-bias to a planar condition; (b) attaching a securement member to the tail using the self-bias of the tail to render the securement member portable with the cable tie; and (c) attaching the securement member and the cable tie to the mounting panel using the self-bias of the tail.
In its preferred form, the securement member extends longitudinally with the tail and defines (1) first and second perimetrically bounded elongate apertures opening along their lengths into first and second opposed sides of the securement member and (2) a tail support portion longitudinally between the first and second apertures, the tail being deformed by the securement member from the planar configuration to have an arcuate portion facing the support portion of the securement member, first and second courses of the tail extending from the tail arcuate portion respectively through the first and second apertures and movable out of the first and second apertures, the self-bias of the tail biasing the securement member into engagement with the tail such that the securement member and the tail are attached with one another to be jointly portable.
Still another approach along these lines is set forth in copending, commonly-assigned patent application Ser. No. 11/302,182, filed on Dec. 12, 2005 and entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SECURING CABLES AND THE LIKE”. This approach provides a securement member for mounting a cable tie to a mounting panel, the cable tie being an elongate member having a head and a tail extending from the head, the securement member comprising a rigid elongate body defining an aperture extending therethrough, the aperture being adapted to receive the tail longitudinally of the body and being of lesser dimension than a tail dimension in one of tail width and height to frictionally engage the received tail.
More particularly, in one aspect, the cable tie tail has a given transverse dimension (width) and a given thickness (height), the aperture receiving the tail having a width dimension less than the tail given transverse dimension and a height dimension at least equal to the tail height.
In another aspect, the cable tie tail has a given transverse dimension (width) and a given thickness (height), the aperture receiving the tail having a width at least equal to the transverse dimension of the tail and a height dimension less than the tail thickness.
The securement member aperture may be preformed to have the respective lesser width or height dimensions or may be so formed after the tail receives the tie tail.
In a further aspect, the body defines a further aperture extending therethrough also adapted to receive the tail, the further aperture having a height dimension at least equal to the tail thickness and a dimension transversely of the received tail at least equal to the tail given transverse dimension.
Further, longitudinally outermost margins of the first-mentioned and the further apertures may frictionally engage the received tail.